The Hero of Konoha: Naruto Uzumaki
by NarutoandBleach
Summary: What if two of the sannins who were former teammates of the Sandaime stayed in Konoha without orochimaru who had turned against the village hoping to plan revenge? Now the Sandaime is looking forward to make naruto a new hero.
1. Chapter 1: The Beginning

The Hero of Konoha: Naruto Uzumaki

The Hero of Konoha: Naruto Uzumaki.

Note: I don't own Naruto or its disclaimers

Summary: The village of Konoha had always been shunning Naruto every since the Kyubii destroyed their precious home. But now a twelve year old academy student, Uzumaki Naruto himself, will change Konoha forever as he becomes his father's next successor.

Chapter 1: Graduation Day

It was a warm and sunny morning in Konoha, as everyone was busy at work tending to their houses, mending their front yards, working on gardening, or going to town buying food. Everyone was busy, but not at the academy in Konoha. Iruka tried to stave off headaches of his students refusing to review the transformation jutsu because of Naruto missing out on his own graduation. Konoha would become a laughingstock of the whole entire five great nations. As Sarutobi watched in the crystal ball while writing on his easel, he could tell that Naruto was up to no good and sighed, "Ugh, when will my own adoptive grandson ever learn to stop with these pranks, it's driving everyone crazy around here. I guess I better send my two best men to go after him." He thought.

Meanwhile outside of the streets of Konoha….

"Naruto Uzumaki, get your ass back here, you shall pay for what you have done to my vest. Do you know how expensive this vest is?" Yelled a chunin shinobi.

"When we catch you, you will never cause this village trouble ever again!" called the second shinobi. But no matter how fast they ran or how high they jumped, they couldn't catch Naruto.

"Come and get me, bakas! You will never prove that was my doing! I will never be caught by the likes of you! You'll have to do a lot better than that if you are going to outsmart me!" called Naruto as he blew a raspberry at the two men who chased after him.

As Naruto and the men jumped from roof to roof, Naruto suddenly turned at the corner of the Nara's residence where a large amount of deer were being kept on the ranch so he hid there. While Nara Shikaku was busy raising deers, he scowled as he saw the approach of two chunins whose style of looks were changed. He couldn't help but groan as he placed his hand on his head and said to them, "Is there something I can do for you gentlemen since you have intruded on my property?" asked Shikaku.

"We're so sorry for bothering you like this, but have you seen the twelve year old demo-"

The two men were suddenly lifted by Shikaku's shadow and they could see his hand grabbing them by their necks ready to choke them. "You better watch what you say in front of a twelve year old who is on his way to be a hero of our place because you will end up suffering the same fate as he did later on." He growled in a monotonous voice.

"We... We're sorry! What we meant to say was, have you seen Naruto around here by any chance?" asked the chunin as he was released by the Nara clan heir while trying to catch his breath.

"It's troublesome to say, but I haven't seen him around either ever since he played the jokes on the entire village. But from what I've seen, he did outsmart you. And I'm surprised to say that he was this creative, which sort of amuses me." Said Shikaku.

"But you don't understand, that kid is not normal and you saw what he did to us. Do you seriously think this is funny?" said the chunin.

"He's right, he needs to be stopped right now so that the village will be safe from that joker." Said the other shinobi.

"To be completely honest, I'm sure it wasn't intentional, but I have to tell you, I am very proud of him despite the pranks he pulled. Not even my son can stop him. As I said, I haven't seen Naruto here so you guys have to look for him elsewhere." Said Shikaku.

The two chunins sighed and left right away to find Naruto. As Shikaku watched, he couldn't help but snicker at the plight of the chunins and thought they did deserve it for picking on a defenseless kid. As he turned back to the ranch he approached Amaru, who seemed to be resting on the left side of the ranch and called out, "It's okay, Naruto. You can come out now, I've scared them away."

Naruto was lucky to have escaped that obstacle as he came out from behind the large deer and sat down on the fence log while petting the herds.

"You really are a troublesome fellow for taking on two chunins like that. What were you thinking? You could have been easily defeated by those two men." Said Amaru, who padded over to Shikaku and sat down next to him.

"Oh, come on. Amaru-san, you know I was just playing with them. There was no harm done to them and they should know better than to pick on a poor defenseless kid like me." Said Naruto.

"Yeah, right. You know that they already hated you, but if you keep harassing them like this, eventually they will kill you, you know that?" replied Amaru.

"Okay, so I went a bit overboard, but hey at least this is payback for what they did to me. I can't let them get to me like this because I can't take it anymore. This will teach them not to mess with me." Said Naruto.

"Man, you really are a pain in the ass, but you are my troublesome adoptive son. Amaru is right, you know. You really should stop these pranks, because you will get in trouble one of these days, you know that?" said Shikaku who placed his hands on Naruto showing a smile.

"Oh, don't worry Shikaku tou-san, They can't outsmart a guy like me. I can easily evade them with no problems at all." Said Naruto with a smile. This had caused the deer raiser to grumble lowly.

The deer covered his face and tried not to laugh but did anyway and thought to himself, "You don't know the half of it Kiddo, no one can outrun you." Even the deer raiser smiled at him but rubbed his head and thought. "He is troublesome just like his old man." As he looked at Naruto, he said to him, "Well, my boy, since you have more energy left, why don't you help me by getting the deers back into the ranch without losing them."

Naruto looked at the deers with a nervous look on his face as he looked at his adoptive father and said, "Are you sure I need to do that?"

The man answered his question quickly and said, "This should be no problem for you." Seeing Naruto started to crack up he asked him, "What? You didn't think you would refuse to do this job just so you can get away from it for free now, did you? Hehehe!"

As the Hokage watched with amusement, he decided now that was enough punishment for him and that he needs to return back to the academy to complete his graduation. So, he sent Iruka over to the Nara household to pick him up and drag him back to the academy.

"I think Naruto really knows what he was doing out there, even though the village shunned him a lot. But he is lucky to have to have the clans to look after him and they do see him as family to them. He does a lot of chores for them and receives a monthly stipend from you, doesn't he?" said Jiraiya.

"Yeah, Naruto does spend a lot of time with the clans and he does have a lot of fun sometimes, but he does need to know sooner or later that the village is not all fun and games." Said the Hokage.

Meanwhile back at the academy, Iruka looked at Naruto with a disappointed look on his face and said to him, "What were you thinking sneaking out of the classroom like that? Today's the day of the graduation exam and you already failed to show up twice already. Either you get your act together, or you won't be able to graduate at all." Said Iruka. He was not used to seeing Naruto act like this before, but he knows that Naruto had been suffering a lot over the past, but he tries what he can to help him.

"But Iruka-sensei, I was just having some fun, can't a shinobi have some fun for a little while?" said Naruto.

"This is no time for fun; you should stay here in class where I can keep a close eye on you so that you won't go out looking for trouble." Said Iruka.

Soon it was graduation time, and Naruto had yet again, failed the exam of the transformation and he was forced to do chores outside of Konoha, which he really hated to do, but Iruka promised him that he would be able to treat him to ramen if he finished all the chores. When Naruto heard those words, he was excited. After he finished, they went to ichiraku to eat some ramen and Iruka had a talk with Naruto by telling him not to sneak out of the classroom during a session and saying that he should focus on getting promoted to genin.

But Naruto told Iruka that in order for him to be a genin, he wanted the village to treat him as a normal person for once and stop shunning him. Also, in order for Naruto to be Hokage, he wanted to succeed his adoptive grandfather, the Sandaime Hokage and then see him as the next hero of Konoha. Iruka smiled at him for that and told him that he still needs to complete his graduation.

The next day, Naruto still had failed the transformation and once again, failed to graduate. Feeling left out, he went outside and sat down on a swing with no one to talk to. As the others watched him, they were disgusted at him because he was a demon. But no matter how harsh the villagers were to him, he ignored their comments and sat down at his apartment. Suddenly, the silver-haired chunin appeared in front of Naruto and said to him, "Why are you looking so down, Naruto?"

"I failed the graduation exam yet again, and now I'll never become the next hero of Konoha. Why does the village always see me as a monster and not as a hero?" said .

"I'm sure you'll pass eventually, Iruka wasn't being harsh to you. He was just worried about you and he feels that your safety is the number one priority. He sees you as his loving student. Try to have more patience, okay Naruto?" said Mizuki while placing his hands on the blonde.

"If this is true, then why hasn't he protected me so well over these last few years before I started the academy? I already know that he took great care of me and all, but he shouldn't have…" began Naruto

"Don't tell me. He shouldn't have underestimated you, right? I know, but he is a special person to you because he cares and worries about you. And so does the rest of your family here. But I think I can help you graduate with a special exam. Meet me in the forest north of the tower with a scroll." Said Mizuki.

"You really think so? I don't know why I am doing this, but okay." Said Naruto. And he went home to make preparations. But Mizuki had something else planned for him as he was planning to kill Naruto and Iruka combined tonight.

As Naruto quietly entered the Hokage tower without the Sandaime's knowledge, he took the large scroll out of its place and placed the cover back on the scroll holding podium and left the tower. As the Hokage slept, he quickly woke up to hear the sound of an alarm going off. As he watcherd, he knew something was wrong and sees a forbidden scroll that was used to be in the tower was gone. At that moment, he knew that it was Mizuki who tricked Naruto to take the scroll so he quickly sent Iruka to find him and also his three former students, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru for backup.

At the forest, Naruto arrived with the scroll and observed the techniques on them. As he continued reading, he came across the Clone technique and was disappointed. "I really don't like that technique. I will try something else." thought Naruto. But before he could continue, Iruka arrived and sees Naruto with the scroll and said to him, "Naruto! What are you doing out here? Don't you know that the entire population of Konoha is worried sick about you? And did Mizuki tell you to take that scroll?"

"Mizuki said that if I could learn a technique from here he would pass me and I was thinking of this as an extra exam." Said Naruto.

"What extra exam? That does not exist. I think you need to take that scroll back to the tower before danger befalls upon you. Listen, Mizuki has tricked you and he would do anything to kill you. I want you to take the scroll out of here and run as fast as you can and don't stop. Think of this as a first C rank mission from me to you." Said Iruka.

But no sonner than he said that, a large barrage of shurikens and kunai knives flew at them. As Iruka tried to push Naruto out of the way, he got hit with most of them and was badly hurt. As Naruto removed them, a second barrage of the weapons flew towards him and he was hit hard with them as well. Believing that Naruto could survive this he quickly struggled to get up and turned to Mizuki and said, "You, don't you dare hurt my teacher Iruka. You shall pay for tricking me like this."

"There is nothing you can do about it now. Besides you are the demon and your father sealed it inside of you and it was the one that killed me and my childhood friend's parents. You are the kyubii reborn. Now hand me the scroll and I shall spare you." Said Mizuki with a evil grin on his face.

"Not on your life! I am guarding this whether you like it or not. You are going to have to be a rocket scientist to outsmart me. Come and get me!" shouted Naruto. And with that he ran off into the distance to the Hokage's tower with Mizuki fast on his tail. Iruka followed close behind with a transformation of the fake Mizuki to protect Naruto with all his life.

As they arrived at the outskirts of the forest, Naruto stopped behind a tree to catch his breath and he felt sad and thought to himself, "Does everyone really hate me for who I am? And now Iruka is turning against me? I really am the monster now and no one really seems to care about me. Mizuki was right, I really am the person to be blamed for what happened." He though as tears came to his eyes and he started to weep helplessly.

But as Iruka arrived he was hit more by the shurikens and other weapons by Mizuki and he sat down on the ground next to a tree and said to Mizuki, "Why are you doing this? Do you have any idea what sort of terrible danger you would unleash onto this village if you take that scroll? Don't ever talk about the demon thing, Naruto is not to blame."

"You really are a hypocrite, why do you keep protecting him? He is a monster after all. You two make me so sick to my stomach just thinking about it. And now since you interfered in saving Naruto's life, I'll be forced to take Naruto's life from this world for all eternity! And there is nothing you can do about it." Said Mizuki. He spots Naruto near a tree and took him out in front of Iruka and started beating him. But still, Naruto didn't flinch because he held onto the scroll with his life without giving it to Mizuki. "I've had enough of you, prepare to die, demon!" yelled Mizuki as he flung the fuma shuriken at Naruto. As Naruto saw the giant weapon coming at him, he makes a run for it but instead of the weapon hitting Naruto, Iruka stepped into take the hit himself as he shielded Naruto from the attack. As Naruto looked up, he was in shock and said, 'Why Iruka, why did you do that?"

"Because you are so precious to me. I know that when I was younger I had suffered the same fate as you did with no parents to take care of me. I know it hurts but thinking about those times is really painful for you and me. I'm sorry I haven't taken good care of you, please forgive me!" Tears came down his eyes and onto Naruto's whiskered cheeks. Naruto slowly got up and was angered at what Mizuki had done and so it was his time to shine and take down the renegade chunin once and for all. "Mizuki, you traitor! I will never forgive you for what you did to Iruka, and I'll be the one to take you down once and for all. Now prepare yourself, because this is going to hurt, Mizuki-teme!" he shouted. And within seconds he performed a hand seal and called out, "Kage Bushin no jutsu!" and suddenly a bunch of Narutos appeared out of nowhere and shocked Mizuki to his core. Even Iruka was impressed to see that Naruto had mastered such an advanced jutsu. "Come and get me Mizuki! I will give you the pain back a thousand fold!" shouted Naruto

"Let's see you try and stop me, Demon! Show me what you got!" yelled Mizuki as he quickly threw another fuma shuriken at Naruto but it missed and sheared a tree in half, ready to hit Iruka, but Naruto moved the broken tree branch somewhere else and started a barrage of punches, kicking, and elbowing at Mizuki. He also landed some blows on his face and chest as well causing blood to ooze out from the silver-haired chunin. "Nice try, Naruto but even your clones won't stop me!" said Mizuki as he struggled to get up. At that moment he knew that Naruto had another trick up his sleeve as he dispelled his other clones leaving the real and the fake one to create a new technique, the rasengan. As Naruto aimed the white spiral ball at Mizuki, it landed it straight into his stomach cauing him to fly in a spiral direction hitting the ground. As the Hokage and the rest of the clans watched, they were most impressed that Naruto could pull off another jutsu of the Yondaime Hokage, even Iruka was impressed with it as well. "Naruto, how much stronger are you getting? If you keep this up you may be as powerful as Kakashi," thought Iruka.

As Mizuki lied on the floor badly wounded, Naruto rubbed his head and said, "Oops, I think I sort of overdid it."

"No, you didn't over do, it, but I think Mizuki's had enough, that second technique you did was simply amazing! I think you are on your way to being a splendid shinobi!" said Iruka.

"You really think so? But what worries me is, am I really the demon? Because no matter where I am, everyone in Konoha sees me as a demon and I don't know who I am anymore. I'm just tired of pranking the village and the civilians treating me like a monster." Said Naruto sadly as tears came to his eyes. He was on the verge of crying.

"You poor thing, Konoha has been so bad to you, hasn't it? Well, I will not let that happen. I will protect you with all my life and so will the sandaime and the rest of the clans of Konoha. You are so special and precious to me and I love you, Naruto!" said Iruka as he embraced Naruto in a hug.

Naruto couldn't help but letting tears run down his eyes as he embraced Iruka in a fierce hug, even though he was wincing in pain. Iruka returned the hug to Naruto just as fierce. And to his surprise, Naruto really does care a lot for Iruka because he sees him as a father figure. After a while, Iruka took out a headband and said to Naruto, "Close your eyes for a sec. I have a surprise for you."

"What sort of surprise?" asked Naruto.

"You can open your eyes now. Congrats on making a new genin of Konoha, I am very proud of you." Said Iruka as he placed the leaf headband on naruto's forehad.

As Naruto saw the leaf headband, he was very surprised and jumped up and down in excitement. As the Hokage looked in the crystal ball, he showed his true smile at Iruka for making Naruto a new genin. "That boy never ceases to amaze me when he learned the fourth Hokage's jutsu. He'll make a fine hero of Konoha one day." Thought the Hokage.

Suddenly out of the forest, Jiraiya and Tsunade appeared and sees the damage done on Mizuki. They were most surprised that Naruto could master the rasengan in just a few seconds. "Look at that, Naruto didn't even need our help, look at the damage he did on Mizuki!" said Tsunade.

"You are right, that kid will make a fine hero of Konoha if he keeps learning new techniques each time." Said Jiraiya.

"This could prove to be more problematic than I had once thought, Naruto is even more of a threat to me and my plans, but I will deal with him when the time comes, hehehehe!" thought Orochimaru evilly as he disappeared from the forest in a puff of smoke.

Out of the blue Sasuke and Sakura appeared in front of Naruto and sees him and Iruka badly injured. They were lucky to have survived the attack and they were escorted to the hospital to be treated for their injuries while the Anbu placed Mizuki under arrest and took him to the Konoha correction facility where he is to be serving his life sentence for the crimes he committed.

"Oh, shit! Now Sasuke and Sakura knows the truth about the monster inside of me. How will I explain this to them? If I tell them this, they'll never speak to me again." thought Naruto as Sasuke and Sakura carried Naruto's arms and walked back to the Hokage's tower.

And that would be the end of this first chapter. I have a few things to clear up Orochimaru and tsunade don't really play a large role at the beginning, but they will later on. Naruto didn't even learn the rasengan until later on. But this is my way of how I like things to pan out as the story continues. Anyway please let me know what you think and I'll see you all next time.

Combatally12


	2. Chapter 2: The Truth Revealed

The hero of Konoha: Naruto Uzumaki

The hero of Konoha: Naruto Uzumaki

Note: I don't own Naruto or its disclaimers

Chapter 2: The Truth revealed

After Naruto defeated Mizuki, he felt that the real truth was being revealed by him because of the kyubii being placed inside him. Naruto felt that he was so alone because in his younger years, the village had always hated him for who he is and not seeing him as a hero. He had no friends, no family and no people to look after him. However, when Naruto met Iruka, his life was changed forever. Ar this point, Naruto wasn't feeling alone as much and when Sakura and Sasuke were around him, they said to him that they will do all they can to keep him safe in Konoha while avoiding the civilians.

As Naruto carried the forbidden scroll back to the tower, he dispatched two clones to carry the wounded Iruka to the tower as well. They were followed by the two sannin who was walking back to the tower with them. "Man, every time I carry this scroll with me, its killing my back, but I'll keep carrying it back to the Hokage's tower, he's getting worried about me, even my own family." Thought Naruto. It was his duty to protect the scroll from danger as he carried it.

As they arrived at the Hokage tower, he called out to his grandfather, "Sarutobi ojii-san! I am back with the scroll. I've brought the traitor Mizuki back with me to be put in jail for the rest of his life now. If it;s not too much trouble, I really would like to bring Iruka to the hospital now."

The Hokage looked out the window and sees Naruto with the scroll safe in his hand. He was impressed that Naruto had stopped a traitor before he could put all of Konoha in danger. As Naruto ran all the way upstairs with the scroll, the anbu guards quickly took it out of Naruto's hands and placed it back on the podium and placed the container back on. As Naruto sat down on the couch, he looked at his grandfather and his family, but he was a bit nervous after what had happened.

"It's okay, Naruto, just tell us what happened last night. Don't worry, you won't get in trouble." Said Choza as he placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. As Naruto looked around the room, the other clans looked at him with smiles on their faces and want to know what had happened. So Naruto explained to them about how Mizuki had tricked him into taking the scroll and the extra exam needed to pass. He also told them about Mizuki's plan and what he did to Iruka back in the forest area.

The sandaime puffed on his pipe and said, "Thank you for telling us the truth, Naruto. What Mizuki said to you was a pack of lies and you shouldn't have trusted him. Btu however, due to your bravery and your courage for taking down a traitor, I am happy to reward you with the stipend of the C rank mission pay. You deserve it, naruto." Said the Sandaime as he handed Naruto the paycheck.

"Thanks, ji-chan, But I am still worried about what Mizuki had said to me, was it absolutely true? Asked Naruto. He wanted his grandfather to let him know everything about him and why his father sealed the Kyubii inside of him. But unfortunately, there are some questions that not even his grandfather can answer. But the Hokage told him that the reason why his father chose Naruto to be the container of the Kyubii was because that the monster needed a vessel and a host to suppress it. The yondaime sacrificed his life to eliminate the beast and sealed it into his new born son, Naruto and he wanted the blonde to become the next hero and Hokage of Konoha., that's the reason why Naruto was chosen to be the container of the beast.

"Great, now my friends know about my secret as well, my life as you know it, is completely ruined. What is it with these villagers? Why can't they leave me alone? I just want to live a normal life, not as the kyubii for the rest of my life." Said Naruto sadly.

The clans murmured at each other for a moment and looked at Naruto with concern, especially the Hokage. Shikaku sat down next to the blonde and said to him, "Naruto, to tell you the truth, we don't blame you for being the kyubii, even your friends know that. Yes,I know its troublesome, but there is no other solution to your problem. We'll do our best to help you anyway we can. Besides, you don't have to be afraid of anything."

"But my friends won't speak to me if they found out about this monster inside of me, they'll think I'm not welcome here anymore and they will most likely kick me out. How am I going to explain this to them? They will never understand me now." said Naruto.

"Don't worry, we've already told your brother, Sasuke and your sister, Sakura about what had happened to you. And they are worried about you but don't take it too personally; we care about you, your friends care about you, even the Hokage as well. Whatever is inside of you isn't you, and it's not your fault for what happened you saved your own teacher and father figure, iruka and we are proud of you for that already, pup." Said Tsume. who placed her hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"But Mizuki said that I was at fault for killing…" began Naruto.

"Don't listen to what Mizuki tells you, it was his own fault for not keeping a close eye on his family well enough. He tried to hurt you and Iruka but you stopped him just in time, didn't you? Yes, we already saw what happened and we are hoping the best for you. We are counting on you to keep the village safe from all enemies, and we are your family, we'll take good care of you." Said Shibi

Naruto couldn't help but tear up at his family for their show of support and said, "Thanks guys, you've made me feel a lot better now. I don't deserve to suffer like this nor being punished for what I have done, but mark my words, I won't make mistakes, I will make things right again." Said Naruto, he promised Konoha that he won't fail them because that was his way of the shinobi. The yondaime was a former student of jiraiya's after all and Naruto would be damned. He would go crazy on anyone who would badmouth him.

"Why am I the one to have to carry this entire burden to be the Kyubii? Even the council hated me for who I am and I can't think of anyone else to blame for this situation I am in." said Naruto

"The villagers are complete idiots for not seeing you as a real hero, Naruto. Believe me, I would be damned if anyone said anything bad about your father, the yondaime, I would beat the crap out of them. I know your father and he did make bad choices, but that doesn't mean you have to. There was nothing else you can do, nothing." Said Jiraiya.

"What happens then? Now that the entire village knows my little secret, I doubt that Sakura or Sasuke will speak to me, and I would be looked down more for having less experience than my other friends." Said naruto.

"Now, don't say that. If they do think less of you because of the monster inside of you, you were never friends with them. Just give yourself some time; try to adjust life around Konoha for a bit longer, maybe then the villagers will think highly of you. You have the support of all the clans of Konoha because they see you as someone special." Said Jiraiya.

As Sakura walks with Tsunade around the streets of Konoha, she was worried about Naruto and his safety. "Tsumade-sama, Naruto hasn't really been feeling himself lately ever since the villagers failed to see him as a hero. He even ignored me and Sasuke because of the secret that he had hidden from us. It's the Kyubii, right?"

"For starters, yes, it was the kyubii, and no, Naruto isn't hiding anything from you because he sees you guys as friends. I don't think he's ignoring you, he's just not in a talkative mood right now." said Tsunade.

"I see, it must be the burden that he had carried for so long and it's causing him pain and suffering. Iruka did comfort him and told him that he was not to blame for the death of his father figure's parents. His adoptive mother and the clans are doing their best to comfort him as well." Said Sakura.

"Yes, he had suffered a lot of pain over these years. Even the Hokage is doing his best to help him as well because I feel that Naruto may be living a tough life in Konoha." Replied Tsunade.

Sakura looked at Tsunade for a moment and smiled, and she knew that there was only one way to make Naruto feel more comfortable here in Konoha: show him the ropes and have Hatake Kakashi help him ease his suffering. But they still feel that Naruto didn't have anyone to talk to. So thwy would arrange Naruto to speak with his friends in the academy, this will help naruto ease his burdens.

The last surviving member of the Uchiha clan, who observed the snake sannin out of the corner of his eye, he wondered how Sasuke had found out about the demon fox inside of Naruto, but it didn't really matter now, Naruto has the backup of both his friends, but the fact that the blonde got involved in the forbidden scroll incident, would be entirely kept secret, but he didn't want his friends to get involved.

Sasuke knew that the only person that matched the nine-tailed description was none other than Naruto himself, but as he thought about the intruder that broke into his house last night, the Anbu were also thinking that it was Naruto who masterminded the forbidden scroll theft, but they decided to let it go since Naruto protected the scroll with his life before it falls into the hands of Mizuki, but still Sasuke needed answers.

"Orochimaru-sama, may I ask you something?" asked Sasuke.

'What is it, Sasuke-kun?" asked Orochimaru.

"Are you sure Naruto is the host of the Kyubii no kitsune? And did Mizuki really say the whole truth about it?" said Sasuke

I'm so sorry that you and Sakura had to go through this, but yes, I heard every word that Mizuki said and it's all true. But the truth of the matter is, the Yondaime should have killed the kyubii and the village wouldn't be in danger as much, but him trying to kill it, was not a very effective solution, but the villagers had forgotten that after the Yondaime's death, his own sacrifice for the sake of the village was not in vain, but instead of them treating Naruto with respect, they spite him a lot." said Orochimaru angrily.

As Sasuke thought about this question, Orochimaru smiled at him, "I suppose that you know why I am telling you this, right? Well, while I hid my emotions, it was a necessary aspect of my responsibilities, I can't count the number of time that Naruto has gotten beaten, bruised, and badly tortured by the civilians and that's even enough to make my eyes go red. But do you know why naruto had lived a hard life? But what you didn't know was the extent of the danger that Naruto had, but I can't tell you all the details, but I am happy that he had found friends like you for help." said Orochimaru. As Sasuke nodded and contemplated at the question, they travelled down in silence as Orochimaru headed back to Oto while Sasuke returns to konoha.

Meanwhile, back in the Hokage tower, the Sandaime dismissed the Anbu and charged them with the task of taking Iruka to the hospital while he speaks to Naruto along with his friends, but they were recommended to stay here for the debriefing. Even Sakura looked at Tsunade as she mulled by her words and thought about the number of times he was abused by the villagers and the pranks he had pulled? Also, Tsunade knows that the blonde had a kind and gentle soul because Naruto would do anything to put his life on the line even if it was for the young children.

'Now, Naruto, I want you to tell me how you managed to steal the scroll without being detected." Said the Hoakge to the blonde. As Naruto complied, he tried to remember about how he managed to elude the guards and went past through the laser systems to get to the scroll. As Naruto said those words, his adoptive grandfather couldn't help but worry about how a mere genin could enter the tower so easily. "This is our hero of Konoha that we are talking about." Thought the sandaime as he chuckled.

"Am I going to get punished, ojii-chan?" asked Naruto. The Hokage thought for a moment before he smiled at Naruto and said, "Since I know that it wasn't you who came up with this ridiculous idea, you did manage to help us catch to catch the real criminal mastermind behind this scheme, I can cut you some slack and let it go just this once. However, if this happens the second time, you do know the serious consequences of it, right?" said the Hokage with a serious tone.

"Yes, I do know," said Naruto.

"Good, Then we all have an understanding here." Said the Hokage as he smiled again at the blonde. As he turned to his two friends, Sakura and Sasuke, he said to them, "As for you guys, You've already know what sort of punishments that you will get for spying on village security, but I'll let that slide as well because you expressed deep concern for your friend, but what you heard must not be told to anyone else, is that clear?" Sakura and Sasuke both nod yes.

"Now we got that out of the way, you three may go now as we three have some important matters to discuss." Said Sarutobi as he nods to his two former students, Jiraiya and Tsunade. The three genins nodded in unison as they left the Hokage's office quietly with Sakura and Sasuke following him. They closed the door behind them as they exited the tower and onto the streets. Outside, Naruto went a bit further up ahead without looking at his friends.

"Naruto, wait up for a moment, will you?" said Sakura. But Naruto kept on going without saying anything to his friends even after he talked with his master, Jiraiya. He was still afraid to reveal the truth to his friends because they too, will reject him.

"Talk to us, bro, don't just leave us out of it." Said Sasuke, But Naruto couldn't even bear to think about facing the fact that he would be betrayed by his own friends because of the demon fox.

"NARUTO UZUMAKI, WILL YOU STOP WHERE YOU ARE AND TALK TO US FOR ONCE!" A hand grabs him by the collar of his jacket and pushes him against the wall. As Naruto turned around, he sees Sakura with that angered look on her face and the disgusted look on Sasuke's face as well. His face looked down on the ground as he said, "What's the point? You guys would probably be treated the same way I was by the villagers and then I won't have anyone to talk to anymore."

Suddenly Sasuke raised his fists and punched Naruto in the face until he hit the ground. As he did that, Sasuke growled to him, "YOU DAMN DOBE! What makes you think that we would be mistreated by the villagers? You are even more of a bigger idiot than I had first thought."

"But if you guys stick with me even longer, the villager's won't…" began Naruto.

"They won't what? Like you? Yes, we already know that, but they don't know a damn thing about you, we do however. But the thing is you have to let this go and you can't let the villagers get to you all the time. We are a team, and we work things out together, remember that?" said Sakura.

"I always have my back for you guys numerous times, but the fact of seeing you guys get treated badly by the villagers or getting hurt by them is something I won't tolerate. I know you guys want to protect me and all but do you really think that my safety has been in danger?" asked Naruto.

"Well, of course not, your safety is always important to us because of the fact that the villagers mistreated you. They don't know a thing about you, and we know you are not the kind of guy that tolerates abuse from them. You have to let it go now because you have suffered enough already. It's time for us to ease the pain for you, and you need to take it easy now and we'll always help you out no matter where you go, okay?" said Sasuke as he placed his hands on the blonde while Sakura lifted him up from the ground.

Naruto was surprised that his friends would always be there for him. He also saw the same smile on the face of Sasuke Uchiha ever since his family was slaughtered. As he looked at Sakura, he saw the same smile on her face as tears started running down from his face at his friends' show of support. "Thanks guys, you've made me feel a lot better now, and I'll always be there for you as well." said Naruto as all three of them walked down the street towards the academy. Naruto never goes anywhere without his friends and felt that his day would get much easier without the villagers harassing him as much. And with that, Naruto's life in Konoha had became better and better as long as he has the full support of his friends and family.

**That, my friends, will do it for this chapter. I know it was long but I had added in new ideas as well as combining about how Naruto had evaded capture as he took the scroll. I took some time in writing this and I have it down pat already. Anyway, let me know what you guys think of this, be sure to read and review and I'll see you all next time.**

**Combatally12**


	3. Chapter 3: Team Placement part 1

The Hero of Konoha: Naruto Uzumaki

Note: I don't own naruto or the disclaimers

Chapter 3: Team Formations part 1

This is just a paring between Naruto and Ino as she is placed on team 7 after Shikamaru and Chouji declined her to join them. With Sakura paired up with Shikamaru and chouji, they would have a helluva time with her.

As Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto exited the forest, they walked down towards the streets of Konoha to the academy when they spotted the villagers talking amongst themselves about how a mere genin like Naruto had graduated from the academy. Naruto's headband had now represented that he had now became Konohagakure's next hero and a new shinobi looking forward to change life here.

"How did that DEMON pass the exams?" said a civilian.

"It was a mistake for letting him graduate." Said another civilian.

"It's a big waste of time for us to accept him as a kid, he should have been executed." Said a merchant.

"How did he come to have Sasuke and Sakura as a part of his life and family anyway?" said a shopkeeper.

"Having him as a hero for Konoha was not exactly what we wanted to have for protection. Said a chunin shinobi.

As Naruto listened to those words from the civilians, he sighed in defeat knowing that he can't afford to listen to anymore of those hateful comments from the civilians that were thrown at him. After what had happened to last night, he didn't blame them for it, but it did take a heavy toll on the blonde for all the hatred that the villagers had given him. But now, Naruto won't have to deal with the harassment any longer thanks to help from his two best friends.

"Just ignore the civilians, bro. They don't even know anything about you." Said Sasuke as he passed by the villagers.

"You may be a different person, but we understand and know you a lot better because you have the support of all of us, which will never change no matter what anyone says or thinks about you." Said Sakura.

"Thanks guys. You don't know how much your friendship means so much to me." Said Naruto.

"We are the ONLY friends that you have, idiot." Said Sasuke with a smile.

"What did you call me, Sasuke?!" Said Naruto with a scowl as he ran after his best friend and brother. Sakura smiled as she watched her two best friends running around chasing after one another while they traded insults. Sometimes Sasuke and Naruto would argue with each other but all of them became a close family together as brother and sister. But still, Sakura still wished that other people would treat Naruto with kindness and see him as a true hero to save his village from danger just like how she and Sasuke would, but despite the glares that they had gotten, they walked straight to their class to get their three man cell team assigned and met their other friends.

"Naruto! What are you doing here? Despite that I'm not glad to see you or anything, but didn't you fail the exams?" said Kiba.

"You really are troublesome. Take a closer look at his forehead; he's got that leaf headband so he's a genin like all of us." Said Shikamaru.

"Wow, that's pretty amazing. Who gave it to you?" replied Kiba after he placed his hand on the blonde's shoulder.

"Iruka-sensei gave me the headband after I passed his exam last night in the forest. It would seem that Mizuki-teme had made a big mistake with the exam the first time so I got a second crack at it and succeed." Said Naruto.

"Where is that traitorous monkey lover Mizuki anyway? I haven't seen him ever since he tricked our buddy Naruto into taking that forbidden scroll." Said Choji. But Naruto and his brother, Sasuke, along with Sakura shrugged without saying anything.

"Who gives a damn where Mizuki is, he's probably being questioned and locked up by the Anbu forces after what he did to our hero and our beloved teacher Iruka. Just don't let him get to you anymore. We're just happy that you are a genin now." Said Ino reassuringly.

"Don't worry about my dobe-brother, he'll be happy with whoever will be assigned with and to ensure full protection for him." Said Sasuke.

"Even though that's not exactly helpful for Naruto, he's still a hyperactive kid who loves to get attention a lot." said Sakura.

"T-That's really wonderful, Naruto-kun. I'm glad to see that you were able to pull through in the end." Stammered Hinata.

"Oh, go on! You're making me blush! I'm happy that I got a chance to graduate with you guys." Said Naruto as he scratched the back of his head as he smiled nervously.

"It's nothing short of a miracle, Naruto. It's all because of your hard work that you earned the promotion to genin after you have passed the exams." Shino said to Naruto. And with that the group spent the next twenty minutes discussing about how the teams was to be arranged when Iruka arrived looking a lot better after what happened last night.

"Good morning, crew. First of all I would think congratulations are in order for all of you now that you are officially genins. Now as for me being your instructor for these four years, it's always my duty to tell you that you have a lot of responsibilities to keep Konoha safe from danger. Now pay attention, this is really important. What I mean by responsibility is that your duty as genin would be to serve this village for the rest of your lives and for the people you love that live here as well as the friends that you made, including the bonds you have kept and all the memories you lived through in Konoha. As long as these memories still come back to you guys, it will make your jobs a whole lot easier because you have all inherited the will of fire and you are protecting everything in order to keep this place and everyone whom you care so much that you hold to dear to your heart. Although your life as shinobis will be tough, but you bear in mine what I have explained to you today, you will be fine despite the adversaries you came across. I am proud of each and everyone of you because you have worked hard to make it this far because you are the ones that made this village proud. Now then, if there are no comments or questions, I'll get started on announcing your teams." Finished Iruka as he took out a folder to announce the teams.

As Iruka goes through teams one through six without breaking a sweat, he sees the next team on the list but feels better if the blonde girl would fit perfectly on their team. And this was the smile that all the students would knew and recognize, but eventually would mean a trifle disappointment to a few of them. "Team 7 will be Uchiha Sasuke, Yamanaka Ino, and Uzumaki Naruto."

"All right!" cheered Ino as she walked over and sat down in between Naruto and Sasuke and hugged them both. Sasuke and Naruto also exchanged high fives with each other with smirks across their faces because he was thankful to end up with his best friend and his second personal favorite. However, Sakura felt lonely that she wasn't on the same team as Naruto and Sasuke, but she reserved a smile that she will be fine without Sasuke around. She turned over to Ino and said to her, "Please take good care of Naruto and Sasuke for me."

"Of course, Sakura. Naruto and Sasuke will be in good hands, don't worry." Said Ino as she showed her first true smile toward the pink-haired Kunoichi. But her inner persona was jumping up and down in rage, "_You bitch of a kunoichi! How dare you take my Sasuke-kun away, I will have my revenge on you! Cha!" _Her Inner persona disappeared as she flashed her worried look sign at Ino but gave her a heartwarming smile.

Iruka gave the new team seven some time to celebrate before he dropped the K word on them. "Your Jounin instructor will be Hatake Kakashi." At that moment Naruto and Sasuke had their mouths dropped in shock as they looked at the chunin.

"No way! Did he say…" began Naruto.

"Hatake Kakashi?" finished Sasuke.

"Oh come on, I'm sure you all know "Copy Nin" Kakashi, a legendary shinobi as our sensei!" said Ino with a smile. Suddenly she hears a loud thump from behind her and sees Naruto banging his head like crazy as if he was trying to wake himself up from an alternate dimension. Ino turns to Sasuke and embraced him in a hug from behind as he scowled. "Oh, what's wrong, fellas? Aren't you guys excited that we got an excellent sensei?"

"You don't know him as well as we do." Said Naruto.

"What?" Said Ino in confusion at her new teammate's answer.

"You'll find out soon enough when you meet him." Said Sasuke.

Iruka smiles as he watched the blonde and the brunette rant and rave to the blonde friend. However, Naruto knew Kakashi's infamous reputation of being late, lazy and unmotivated individual. He was also a reader of the Make Out paradise series which was written by Jiraiya, and in the process, earned the ire of many kunoichis but despite that, he was still one of the best shinobis of Konoha and a former Anbu commander. The chunin knew that the two brothers, Naruto and Sasuke, had dealt with Kakashi so he felt that he could get some fun from watching Team 7's reaction as they heard their instructor's name announced before he moved on to the next team cell.

"All right, moving on. Team 8 will be Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuga Hinata, and Aburame Shino. Your instructor will be Kurenai Yuuhi." He already recognized Kurenai being recently promoted to Jounin who has high skills in genjutsu and she was as good as any other jounin who specializes in illusion techniques.

Hinata was smiling when she heard about Kurenai being her sensei, Kiba and his canine companion were happy as a clam while teamed up with two people who enjoy the warm weather of the outdoors, and Shino was calm and satisfied to be among his trusted companions.

"While team nine is in rotation, team 10 will be Haruno Sakura, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Choji and your jounin leader will be Sarutobi Asuma" finished Iruka as he scratched his head looking at the info. He already knew Asuma very well since he was a Fire Temple guardian because he and his father didn't get a long so well, but in the end they managed tm make a fresh start. But still, Naruto and Konohamaru sees the man as a friend and family of Konoha who likes doing things the easy way. He was a smoker and had found no means of quitting.

On the other hand, team 10 was pretty happy with their lineup. Shikamaru was happy to have Chouji on his side because they knew each other since childhood and they became friends for a while now because he was the only one that understood Choji's feelings. As for Sakura, she was a bit unhappy not being put with Sasuke and Naruto, but she was glad to work with a team that would allow her to command Shikamaru ad Chouji around all day and do whatever she tells them to do.

"Okay, now that the team assignments are taken care off, I think I will adjourn the class for the day and as I have said to all of you, ia m proud of the hard work you've done here because you have so much potential being the new shinobis of Konoha and it was a pleasure to work with you all. I know you all will do well with your new teammates, so good luck to all of you and see you guys later." Said Iruka as he left the room. Afterwards the nine friends grouped together for one last time before their senseis were due to pick them up.

"Well guys, since we are put on different teams, we may not be able to see each other for a while due to missions and other things." Said Naruto sadly.

"Oh, don't worry, we'll still see each other again, buddy." Said Kiba as he plaed his hand Naruto's shoulder, even his canine companion agrees as well.

"Kiba is right, while we are not on the same teams, we'll still keep in touch with each other, won't we?" said Shino, but he was interrupted by the entrance of the genjutsu specialist who looked like some sort of a mummy, but her features included were her ruby red eyes, just like Itachi Uchiha's mangekyo Sharingan, which makes Narutowonder if she has possession of the sharingan herself.

"Hello there, I'm here to pick up team eight." Called Kurenai. Naruto turns to Hinata, smiled at her and said, "Well, your teacher is here, Hinata. Take good care of yourselves, all right?"

Hinata suddenly turns red at the show of Naruto's concern but re kept her composure after years of friendship with her, she still couldn't get over her nervousness around the blonde. "D-Don't worry, naruto-, I know Kurenai-sensei very well and she will take good care of us."

'We'll see you guys later, okay?" waved Kiba as he and Shino leaves with Kurenai while the jounin smiled at Naruto reassuringly before leaving the room. After Hinata finished her last few mintes with Naruto, she said goodbye and left with her teammates along with the sensei out the door.

As the remaining friends continued chatting for a bit longer until another jounin entered the room. This time, Naruto recognized him as the man with the cigarette in his mouth and wearing the standard jounin uniform and with the symbol fire written on his scarf sticking out from the bottom of his vest. "Hey there, Asuma ji-chan" greeted Naruto with a happy wave as the jounin patted his shoulder affectionately while gently ruffling his face. The son of Naruto's adoptive grandfather had been one of the juonins who took good care of Naruto before he was a Temple guardian.

"It's been a while, little buddy. I'm here to gather up my teammates. Do you know where they are?" asked Asuma.

'That would be those three right over here. Good luck trying to train chubby-dude, pineapple-head, and pink lipsticks over there; you are going to need it." Said Naruto with a grin on his face, which earned him an affectionate smile from Sakura and a "troublesome blonde" mutter from Shikamaru. Choji didn't say much as he ate his chips, but he too, smiled at the blonde.

Asuma smiled at this and said, "I'll see what I can do, and you are the only three students left, you are teamed together as well, right?" asked the jounin as he gets confirming nods from Naruto, Ino, and Sasuke. "Good choice, I know you three will work very well together, so who do you have as your sensei?"

Both Naruto and Sasuke scowled and said the name at the same time, "It's the copy-nin and the owner of 8 ninkens himself, Hatake Kakashi."

Asuma smiled warmly because he knew the white haired jounin as always a late arrival kind of guy and a reader of the make-out paradise series. But still, Kakashi's still had his reputation as a former ANBU commander, but other than that, Sasuke and Naruto were already understanding that Kakashi has the uncaring demeanor which always gets on the boys nerves.

"Now, now, Kakashi is a strong shinobi and I'm sure he can't be that bad. You guys have to just take some time to get to know him better, he might be a little cynical, so its up to you guys to give him an extra push." Admonished Asuma.

"Oh we'll push him to his limits all right." mutters Naruto.

"We'll send him all the way to the deep end." Said Sasuke.

The bearded jounin had felt sorry for the copy nin, but out of all this year's impressive genins, only Kakashi's team had potential to be Rookies of the Year featuring Uchiha Sasuke and the loudmouth Naruto Uzumaki because of his grades not being so good. The reason why naruto was always last was because he had failed his genin exam the first time around. Apparently, Sarutobi had used this to his advantage to allow the long time friends to stick together, and it was pure coincidence that Sakura was put on their team, or so they think? Asuma had immediately suspected that his father had decided to change the female member from team 10 and put it with team 8 despite the council members trying to end their friendship with the pink-haired Kunoichi.

Anyway, he didn't complain since he felt that the team members given to him was perfectly fine. Just like their parents, the famous Ino-Shika-chou trip seemed all too familiar enough so that there won't be any problems.

"Well, I got to take my team now, and don't worry, Naruto, I'll take good care of Sakura for you, just hang on tight, okay?" said Asuma as he nods for team ten to go with him.

"Time for us to get going, It's up to you, Ino to keep Naruto out of trouble, and take good care of Sasuke until my return, okay, Ino-pig?"

"You wish, billboard-brow. I'll make sure to take great care of them, you guys stay out of trouble, okay?" said Ino as she hugged Sakura and their rivalry broken momentarily.

"Of course, same for you guys." Said Sakura. As Shikamaru stared at the two girls, a smile came across his face as he and Choji faced Naruto and his brother, Sasuke. "I'd wish you guys luck, but you already have plenty."

"Now you have fully changed, but you still don't say troublesome like you always do" said Sasuke.

"Being separated into teams is troublesome for me." Said Naruto.

"You took the words right out of Shikamaru's mouth, but for us, we are perfectly fine with the teams we're assigned to" replied Choji.

"We've got it all mapped out so we'll be okay. You guys look out for each other and please take good care of my sister figure for me, okay?" stated Naruto.

"Will do." Replied the shadow user as he and Choji walks away with Asuma and Sakura. "Later."

As Team 7 watched team 10 leave the room, Ino sees Sasuke settinghis foot upon the desk and dozed off. "Make yourself comfortable, Ino, our teacher will take a while to come here." He said to her.

Ino then sees Naruto at the door entrance while placing an empty bucket on the top of the slightly open classroom door. "Just what do you think you are doing, Naruto? You know you will get in trouble for that." Replied Ino.

"Oh, don't worry. One good prank deserves another. This is to get him back for coming in late." Replied Naruto.

(**One and a half hour later…**)

"Okay, he may be a procrastinator, but he can't be that bad." Muttered Ino to herself as she tapped her foot on the ground impatiently while waiting for Kakashi to arrive, but as for Sasuke, he was waiting patiently while dozing off. But for Ino, her inner self started to boost her frustration up, "_WHERE ARE YOU, MR. LAZY ASS PROCRASTINATOR? HOW MUCH LONGER ARE YOU GOING TO DELAY OUR TRAINING SESSION? SHANNARO!" _

"I knew he'd come here." Said Naruto as he sat down on the chair while Sasuke continued sleeping, but when the door cracked open, he cracked one of his eyes open and said, "Finally, took that slacker long enough." And sure enough, the door opened as the white haired jounin wearing a mask over his head peeks in and starts to say something, but suddenly the bucket with water on the door top fell and landed on his head with a splash that soaked his vest a little. As he took the bucket off his head he takes a towel and then dries himself off, and by using a blow dryer, he was able to dry water off completely.

"Haha! Didn't I tell you he would fall for it?" laughed Naruto to Ino with his grin and exchanging a thumbs punch with Sasuke.

"You damn Baka! Now look what you have done, you got Kakashi all wet, thanks to your stupid prank." Shouted Ino while she pounded Naruto on his head leaving a lump. She then turned to the white haired man as he continued drying himself off. "I am so sorry for Naruto's irrational behavior. By the way, you must be the copy nin Hatake Kakashi?" she said nervously while her inner self was cheering like crazy saying the masked Shinobi deserved what he got.

"That's me. I'm your new instructor now. And my first impression of you three is… I don't take a liking to any of you."

"That's how he always is, rude and less helpful." Muttered Sasuke as Kakashi gave him a warning glare while keeping him quiet.

"Okay, now that I am here, meet me on the rooftop in five minutes and we'll talk more up there." Said kakashi as he disappears ina puff of smoke. As the three genins looked at each other, they shrugged and went out of the classroom to follow Kakashi to the rooftop and wondering what new challenges will bring them.

To be continued


	4. Chapter 4: Team Placement: part 2

The Hero of Konoha: Naruto Uzumaki

Chapter 4: Team assignment part 2

Kakashi was an ordinary man with several different ideas and had the skills necessary to be the best he can be to his students. He is also loyal and plays it cool and always bends the rules. Second, he can sometimes be lazy just like Shikamaru and his father by reading his book. However, despite that so little people know the man for who he is, his closest people whom he remembers never did pay too much attention to him, but he tried not to get himself involved with what happened to his former sensei after the Kyubii attack.

In all, it was surprising for the old man Hokage as Kakashi met him in person furing the team evaluations for squad placements. He was chosen to mentor the rookie team, the ones that would fail embarrassingly in his test, and they are no ordinary rookie team but a team with family members that he had strong relationships with and the presence of them would put Kakashi in a bind of his shinobi career and he was the only one that knew why he was assigned this team and serve as their leader.

Today, we find our former ANBU captain on the rooftops thinking about his plan on how to mentor his team while he sees them shuffle all together on the roof and sat in front of the white-haired jounin face to face. From the report, he recognized Yamanaka Ino from the academy, but he also became so close to Uzumaki Naruto and had became familiar with Uchiha Sasuke too.

Because the Uchiha clan had hated Kakashi due to a member of their clan being dead and having the sharingan given to him as replacement for his damaged left eye. No matter how many times they tried to remove it, it was desperate except for the Uchiha who was worthy of having the sharingan, but the hate was eventually passed down to Sasuke who ignored kakashi like he wasn't there.

For Naruto, it was a different story; the blonde was too easily caught by kakashi due to his pranking business without having to use force to hurt him and then being brought to his adoptive grandfather to be punished. Also, due to the kid's attitude problems and the perverted orange book being obsessed by him and here was a genin who took a special liking to be captured in the man's hands while being a slack off shinobi to add to his abilities and skills.

Kakashi knew that mentoring these two youngsters would prove challenging for him, but he took a special interest in Ino and had soft spots for her because she wasn't lazy like Shikamaru was and got along well with Sasuke, but with Naruto, it could stand a little improvement, but within a few days, she and naruto became the best of friends which made the teammates work together very well, and he had shared that sentiment with his former sensei and his friend Obito because of the good times they had together. As the team assembled, Kakashi closes his beloved book and then takes a seat in front of his students.

"Good day to the three of you. Now that you are present, the reason why I had called the three of you here was so that we can get to know each other a lot better and introduce ourselves to each other, know our likes, dislikes, hobbies, favorite foods, pets, and so on." Said Kakashi. As Naruto tried to say something, Kakashi interrupts him and said, 'I know what you are going to say, blonde, and I am well aware that you three have been together for a long time, now I know that you hated having Sakura being on Asuma's team, but its for the best because she can't take care of you every single time, but now you have Ino here, things will be much smoother from here on out, just bear with me for the time being."

"Tell us about yourself, Kakashi-sensei, we're all ears." Said Ino.

"Hmm..? Well, I guess that will be fine. The name's Hatake Kakashi, dreams for the future, haven't thought of one yet, and likes and dislikes, that's another story, so that's all you'll need to know about me.' Replied Kakashi.

"So all you're going to tell us is your name? Of all the nerve, that's not fair!" thought the three genins as they looked at Kakashi while sweat dropping.

"Okay, you guys are next. You first, brunette. Ladies always goes first and all. Said Kakashi as he takes his book out again. Ino had a tick mark on the back of her head after being called a "brunette" but she stayed calm and said, "My name is Yamanaka Ino, my hobbies are helping out at the flower shop and hanging out with friends, what I dislike is people arguing and Sakura being better than me." Sasuke and Naruto laughs softly but was quieted down from a glare at Ino. "My hobbies are gathering new flowers and learn new techniques, and being the medical-nin like Tsunade sama and many other things." She could see Sasuke blushing and Naruto with that smile thinking she will be helpful in a lot of ways.

"So she's a big fan girl who is obsessed with Sasuke, eh? I think can work with someone like that, at least this doesn't stop her from concentrating on her studies." Thought Kakashi to himself while starting at naruto. "You're next, blonde."

Naruto scowls at Kakashi defiantly before standing up and taking his turn. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, Ramen is my favorite, and I love pets such as dogs and other animals!" This sort of statement had caused Ino and Sasuke to be surprised that he had taken an interest in animals. "And besides the precious people here in Konoha being my family, I don't like perverts, bigots, and the long minutes it takes make the ramen and I also don't like the villagers badmouthing me or my family. My hobbies are training and reading manga and my dream is to become the greatest Hokage that this village will see!" He then turned to Kakashi and said to him, "You love pets, right? And those eight personal Ninja hounds of yours are no exception."

"That was typical of Naruto, knowing him; this guy may be a comedian, but if he's anything like his father, then I'll no doubt have confidence that he will accomplish his mission with no problems at all." Thought Kakashi as he smiled at him. He then turns to look at the last surviving member of the Uchiha clan who was also on the team and the raven-haired kid stares at him and said, "The name's Uchiha Sasuke, I like herbal tea and watching over my brother, Naruto, while he trains, dislikes are abuse from people and villagers trying to make death threats toward my comrades. My hobbies include meditation and vow to keep myself stronger to restore my clan. My dreams, no, more like my mission, is to hunt down the man who killed my family, find out as much information as I can from him, and then I will decide on whether to kill him or spare him." Said Sasuke while he smiles at Ino and Naruto while nodding reassuringly that everything was going to be okay.

Kakashi didn't really say anything after what he heard of Sasuke and he knows who the raven-haired kid was referring to when he said about killing a certain someone that slaughtered his entire family. It was too long now after Itachi killed his own family leaving Sasuke bewildered and traumatized from that nightmare. Even though the young Uchiha was still bearing the scars of those painful memories as a child, he was still handling the issues in a mature fashion.

"Hopefully, I will restore my clan." added Sasuke while Naruto was smiling at him and Sakura giving the raven-haired kid a hopeful look.

"Hopefully, Nee-san Teme? You're not going red on us, are you? I don't swing that way." Said a cheeky Naruto. This had caused Sakura to smack him on the back of his head by Ino while Sasuke covered his head with embarrassment.

As happy as Kakashi would get based on his students' comedy, it was time to get down to serious work. "All right, my friends, now that we all know who we are, I'll tell you about the real exams that all genin should take." He said while facing his students.

"What are you saying? We've already passed the genin exams." Said Naruto.

"Uh, no. not that kind of exam that you did in the academy, not that type of exam. The exam that I am talking about, it's up to the jounin instructor of a three man team to determine if his or her students can become an active team if they work well together." Said Kakashi.

"You are so full of yourself, you're just saying that because you don't have a liking for us, didn't you mention that to us before?" said Sasuke.

Kakashi stared at Sasuke with a look while he ponders his questioning of integrity. "I am a jounin, Sasuke. I've been doing this kind of work for such a long time now before you were born. All teams that are assigned instructors will be given this test and will determine if they pass or not." He said to the raven-haired boy.

"And if we don't pass your test, what will happen to us?" asked Ino.

"The best that can happen to students like you who don't pass will be sent back to the academy to be re-trained and not to mention you'll eve consider giving up being Konoha shinobis together which is something that you'll need to avoid if you want to pass my exam." Replied Kakashi. He then pauses for a minute and then continued. "Now, as I was saying, if you agree to take my test, I'll give you two options: you can take it now and get it done quickly without any conflict involved, or you can do it tomorrow morning bright and early so that you'll all have the rest of the day off to think about this before you make your decision. A word of caution, however, there is a seventy-five percent chance that you will all fail my exam, so, what will it be?"

"Hey, Naruto, Ino, a word with you two, please?" said Sasuke as all three of them huddles together.

"Well, what do you think, is he just pulling our leg or just stone-walling us?" asked Sasuke.

"He did say that if we are having this test, then so will the other genin teams because their success rates are really high at this point" stated Ino dubiously.

'He had given us another chance to pass his test and then prove to that one-eyed freak that we are the real deal here." Said Naruto. However, unknown to Kakasho, the act of those three huddling together had given them enough consideration to pass under the man's eyes. But still, Kakashi was curious as a kitty cat as to see how good they really were so he kept quiet without saying anything.

"Let's get this done today; we're starting over with a clean slate as of now." Said Sasuke.

"I agree, let's get this over with. Besides, it will be waste of time if we put this off till the next day, it will ruin our chances of getting a good night's sleep," said Ino.

Naruto on the other hand gave Sasuke and Ino a foxy smile and said, "Well, what the hell are we just sitting around for? Let's rock and roll!"

So the three genin turned to their master and said to him, "Tomorrow would be just a waste of time, let's get this done and dusted today."

Kakashi could only shake his head in disbelief but he shrugged it off and replied to them, "Okay, suit yourselves, meet me at Training ground 7 in 10 minutes, okay? See you in a bit." He then disappeared in a puff of smoke. As the three genins looked at each other, they nodded all together before they tip-toed off to the training field to start the test. Ten minutes later, Kakashi finds his subordinates already waiting there for him at training field seven.

"I'm so glad that you all made it. Now, your objective will be to take the bells away from me by sunset." Said kakashi as he takes the bells out of his pockets.

"I have a question, Master Kakashi. Can you tell us why you only have two bells when there are three of us here?" pointed Ino.

"You do have a point there, Ino. The reason why I have only two bells is to see whoever can be able to get the bell from me will be the ones to pass my exam." Stated the copy-nin.

"What the… you want to try that again? That's the biggest bunch of crap that we ever heard. And deep down inside of me, I know that you are trying to trick us into taking your bells because if you have something against us, then our chances will be slim to none." Shouted Naruto angrily.

"Actually, it's quite the opposite. I am actually doing you all a favor here. You really should thank me because in this world there are shinobi that are sometimes very greedy and don't play by the rules. So, if you don't take these bells away from me by sunset, then you all will not pass and its best for you all to quit being shinobi together." Replied Kakashi.

The man's words had made Naruto madder than ever before. So he decides to make his move on Kakashi, but suddenly Sasuke grabs him from behind and pulls him back.

"Sasuke, let go of me so that I can punch that guy straight to the moon." Growled Naruto as he struggles to let go from his brother's grip.

"Easy, Naruto. You don't stand a chance against Kakashi. Besides, don't you think you'd be able to smell a rat when you see one?" hissed Sasuke.

Finally, Naruto stops struggling and eyes his friend, "You know, you may be right. Its not just me that would stand a chance against…" he suddenly stops for a moment as something different had came to his mind as he stares at Ino and Sasuke for confirmation.

"You guessed it, one on one, we can't do this individually, but together as a team, and now, time to kick Kakashi's ass and we still have a chance to win this." Said Ino. "In other words…"

"Those bells are just a diversion to try and separate our teamwork and throw us off track."

"Teamwork is what it is." Finished Naruto. "So what's our next plan?"

"We go in together." Said Sasuke with a firm satisfaction. "We cannot allow Kakashi to see us fail."

"So, what's your plan then? Please hurry this up because I need to go to other places and see people that need me to be there for them. The time is of the essence." Said Kakashi.

"Bring it on, you one-eyed freak. There is no way in hell we will fail your crummy test." Said Naruto as he took his fighting stance.

"Okay, if you say so." Replied Kakashi as he hangs the bells from his belt. "If you really want the bells, you have to show me you really mean it. Come at me with full force, that's the only way you'll be able to pass my test."

"Come at you…" started Ino with swat cringing from her face.

"With full force?" continued Sasuke and Naruto with a smirk on their faces.

Kakashi sweat-dropped as the blonde's two teammates mirror the man's moves and then taking out weapons of their own. "Well, they are certainly full of surprises; I didn't expect them to be this serious." He thought to himself. "Okay, then your time starts… NOW!!"

At this hour, Kakashi was really going to regret telling his teammates to come at him with full force from his hiding place in the trees. It didn't take long for his subordinates to make the first move while having Naruto charging at him with a direct frontal assault. He also side-stepped the attack easily but to his surprise, attacking that fake Naruto was actually a clone which was dismissed upon striking it.

The heels of the clone was from Sasuke who used Taijutsu because his hand to hand combat skills were unsurpassed but it became apparent that it didn't stand a chance against the jounin, so he hops away to hide in the tree lines. As soon as Sasuke cleared out of the tree lines, barrages of shurikens and kunai knives erupts from the bushes and then impales Kakashi. He assumed that those were from Ino, but somehow, Kakashi dodges the barrages of shurikens with his Kawirami no Jutsu and tries to locate the source of the attack, but he noticed that Ino had disappeared.

As the attacks continued with the genins trying every aspect and strategy to get the bells while running around bum bushes, ruts, and other fiery traps along with any genjutsus set up, especially Naruto's harem jutsu that Kakashi always falls for each time. And as Naruto tries to take the bell away from kakashi, it was beginning to look like they were testing the man's limits. Eventually, Kakashi had rejected all their futile attempts at getting the bell while landing some good hits of his own. He even used the thousand years of death on the blonde and sent him flying into the tree lines after Naruto tried an ambush on Kakashi. He also pulled Sasuke underground with the head hunter technique and reversed Ino's mind destruction technique attempt. As he turned, he sees a mass amount of Naruto's clones tried to retrieve the bells and regroup for a counter attack.

Kakashi then conceals himself in the trees waiting for his teams getting another shot at the bells. In another part of the area, the genins were having a meeting and were almost at the end of their rope dealing with kakashi and they tried everything but to no avail.

"Damn it. I will not be beaten by the likes of him. There is got to be something that we haven't even tried before" said Naruto while rubbing his ass.

'He's just too good for us and no wonder he's a professional and an ex ANBU captain." Said Sasuke while wiping the dirt off his clothes.

"We already know that ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu will never work on him and not even sneak attacks either. Is there anything else that we can try on him?" Asked Ino while she shivered from that horrible genjutsu that was shown to her earlier.

"Now that you mentioned it, lets combine all three together, the ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu." Said Naruto with a evil grin.

"What? I know what you are up to, you sly devil you, you're definitely up to something, I just know it. Now spill it, nee-san." Said Sasuke with a smirk.

"Yeah, I want to know what you meant when you said let's combine the three techniques together." Said Ino.

"Oh, you'll see what I mean. You're going to love this one." Said Naruto while he briefs his teammates about the plan of attack.

A few minutes later, while Kakashi reads his book to pass the time, Naruto calls out to him, "Hey Kakashi, come on out here and fight me face to face like a man!"

Kakashi just sighed while watching from his hiding place and seeing Naruto in the clearing, so he decides to put an end to this once and for all as he steps out.

"Um, Naruto, you know that you don't stand a chance against me for a one-on-one battle like that?" Kakashi stated lazily.

"Oh, put a sock in it. I don't care how may attempts I get as long as I get the bells!" said Naruto with a smile while performing his hand seals. "Besides, I'm not alone, I got my friends. Kage Bushin no jutsu!" and within an instant, a bunch of shadow clones starts to glare at Kakashi as he shakes his head sadly and said, "Oh boy, haven't you tried this trick numerous times already? Quality doesn't always mean quantity you, know."

"Well, we'll just see, won't we? You'll never know what's around the corner." Stated Naruto as he signaled for his teammates to attack. Even though with the large number of naruto's clones, they were too easily dispatched by Kakashi, but in the middle of the chaos, one of the clones jumps up and made some hand seals that was familiar to the one–eyed jounin and making his eyes widen.

"How did he…?! When did he learn that technique?" Kakashi thought to himself while trying to jump away while the clones themselves called out: Katon: gokuyaku no jtusu and blows out a long stream of flame at the jounin, at the final second, Kakashi made a quick Kawarimi with only his partial pieces of hair and uniform singed. Once Kakashi lands on the ground, he felt himself sinking to the solid earth because he was under some type of genjutsu, no matter how imperfect it can be, he sees the image of another Naruto going through the hand seals again that made him suspicious. As Kakshi tried to dispel the genjutsu, a rush of the orange color whizzed past him and the bells that were on his belt buckle were snatched away from him stopping the tinkle. Kakashi then stops sinking and released the genjutsu to show three Narutos in front of him with the bells in his hand.

"Well, Kakashi, looks like we win this round, we got the bells from you, didn't we?" grinned Naruto with the bells jingling while the two narutos beside him turned to Sasuke and Sakura

"You certainly did, Naruto. But it doesn't change knowing that only two of you will pass this exam, now who will it be?" asked Kakashi.

Naruto looks at his bells in his hands with a somber look on his face and then at his friends before tossing the bells at them and said, "I won't make the cut if I go back to the academy, so you guys take the bells."

"What are you talking about?" asked Ino. "We worked together to get the bells, remember? If he can't accept this, then I can't go back to the academy by myself."

"Ino's right, you dobe. If you fail, then we all fail, that's what teamwork is all about, isn't it?" said Sasuke as he threw his bell away.

"Are you all telling me that you would rather give up your chance of being genin instead of leaving your teammate behind?" asked Kakashi.

"Yes." Answered Ino and Sasuke. Naruto just stared at his teammates gratefully before turning to Kakashi ans said to him. "Kakashi-sensei, didn't you tell us before that this is a team effort exercise and a team won't be able to complete this without any problems as a team so if you want to fail me, you are going to have to fail all of us." Replied Naruto.

Kakashi took a deep breath and then he stared at his team and said, "So be it, then. So, now it's my decision to say that you all…. Pass!" replied the man with a smile.

At that moment, the three genins reactions were varied when they heard the announcement of them passing. Ino breathed a sigh of relief, Sasuke just puts his hands in his pockets and Naruto jumped up and down with excitement.

"Since you all got the objective of the exam from the start, I congratulate all of you. It has also been told that those people who don't follow these rules or who abandon their own comrades are lower than trash, while a team will be like a family who supports each other through thick and thin, that's what you guys displayed out there. I felt lower than trash because everyone that I had known in my team had perished: Obito, Rin, and even my own sensei, Minato because I had abandoned them." Said Kakashi as he looked at the sunset.

But Squad seven didn't say anything because for Sasuke, he had now know how much pain Kakashi was in when Obito died after the sharigan was given to him, but the pain made it even worse. For Naruto, he had a tough exterior who doesn't take any nonsense because he was the façade who had felt tormented when the civilians shunned him and left him for dead in his young age. And for Ino, she could emphasize on Kakashi because she never experienced any pain because she can't deal with them very well.

Kakashi then turns to his teammates while showing them a heartwarming smile and said, "My sensei had taught me a lot of things and look underneath the underneath. And there is a reason why I am still alive today, and the reason is all three of you. I swear pact that in honor of my friends and loved ones who had passed down on me before, I will protect you all with my life and will do everything in my power to help you all achieve those goals and ambitions." His tone of seriousness expressions had made team seven understood what he meant. He then gave them another smile and said, "Team seven is now officially in business."

**And that was a long chapter but a good one. How was that for a quick update on everything? Next chapter will be released soon within a couple of weeks.**

**Combatally12**


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